Baja Bernie
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New York Deli (Dave's)
Wife and I were wandering around Baja Norte the past few days looking in on places we had not been to in over 20 years. Fun! Some no longer exist
and more will soon follow them. I am told that there are now 27 high rise towers are being built in the Gold Coast area--Rosarito to La Mision. The
quaint little old 'campos' are being wiped out very rapidly.
Stopped by Dave's and the wife had some of the carrot cake and she tells me that it is to die for.
Nice to see Dave again. Unfortunately, for me, he is always so busy it hard to get a word in as he rushes around making a bunch of people happy with
his great deli products.
If you have not stopped by yet--- stop, have a bite, and say hi. Closed on Wednesdays only--Open 'til 4pm.
[Edited on 7-29-2005 by Baja Bernie]
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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bajajudy
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I agree 100%, Normal
We ate there twice during our visit for the book signing. First for a pastrami sandwich....killer....then for breakfast, I had the breakfast bagel
sandwich...also great.
They do a terrific job.
Dave, jump in here and give directions.
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Dave
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Baja Bernie
Stopped by Dave's and the wife had some of the carrot cake and she tells me that it is to die for.
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Thanks for the (unsolicited  ) plug, Bernie.
And thanks for a copy of your book. Next time you could autograph it for me? (Some excuse...What kind of an author doesn't carry a pen?  )
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BornFisher
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Thanks for the report. I`m down there a few days a week (K-38) and have never stopped by.
BTW there is a new bakery near Taco Surf, so now it`s practially a food court!! There`s a hot dog/hamburger stand, the bakery (great apple turnovers),
mini store, Taco Surf, and Anna Mar!!!
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A-OK
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I remember the good ole days surfing 38 when the tortas were only .40...... two for me and two for my Sheep dog buddies inside the gate.
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Me No
Banned
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Every time I drive by the place seems plenty busy. They must have something going on.
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Baja Bernie
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Dave
A poor one! AND you were to damn busy to stop and let me use one of yours.
Oh! We were talking about Dick Harrison (Baja guy Circa 1946). Here is something I wrote about him. It was July of 2003 that he passed--time does
fly!
Jamie
All these years you have heard my quiet rant
Love, Honor, and Country
You and I have marched along many a mile
And most always together
Friendship, honor, loyalty, and Love
Have sprung from me to you
We?ve looked at the high side of life
And at the under belly too
All those years and nights
Sitting on a stool
When things got me down
And things got a little rough
Why all I had to do
Was look to my right
And sitting on the next stool
There was always you
Move over my lady, my friend,
And fishing buddy too
Now it is time for you, my daughter
To crawl up upon my stool
Now look over to your right
You will find all the love we have shared
Saved there, neatly stacked
Just for you
Share what we have shared
With someone just for you
Keep your head high
Now know that which you must do
Semper Fi and Goodbye
By Bernie Swaim July 18, 2003 (Dick Harrison marched off July 20, 2003)
Wrote this for him after I visited both of them at the VA hospital. He smiled when he gave it to his daughter.
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Dave
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Bernie, I miss Dick but only knew him for the last five years of his life.
You knew him well. Why don't you post a bio so everyone could know more about him?
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Baja Bernie
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Dave
Been trying to do that for two years--I promised his daughter but the words just seem to have dried up as they relate to one hell of a man who lived
life his own way most all of his life. The Corp did make him tow the line in WWII--he was a sniper on several of the islands in the Pacific. Reupped
for Korea and bleed shrapnel from his arms for the rest of his life. If anyone ever caught him without a shirt on his body looked like a crudely
drawn map.
First came to Baja in 1942 for a quick visit to TJ ( like so many service guys did back then).
In 1946 he started visiting way down in San Quintin and became fast friends with a Mexican guy who owned land near the La Pinta Hotel. Dick built a
one room adobe house that served him and his friends well until the year of his death. Funny! When the river flooded a few years back the house sunk
about a foot into the ground. Dick's attitude was you gotta duck to walk in but you could stand up once you got in.
He built and owned the King Neptune Restaurant and Bar in Sunset Beach--his motto there was " Better to be lost on a ship at sea, than locked in a
house with an angry wife."---I still have a T-Shirt---- he had dozens of them made announcing the "Your chance to own a Legend---After 28 years in
business at this location we want to just lay on the beach....So we decided.... KING NEPTUNE'S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & NAUTICAL MUSEUM, since 1969,
is FOR SALE.
This was after he agreed to manage the Cantina in La Salina for nothing but a bedroom about the size of a prison cell. No pay! He just wanted to be
in Baja and be able to visit with his hundreds of friends from Southern California and around Baja.
About this time he bought himself a Hummer and had it painted Red, White, and Green. Then he had Mexican Eagles/with snakes painted on both doors.
He also got personalized plate for it that said--"El Grito". Said he never got searched when coming into Baja and in fact he received salutes on
more than one occasion.--Ask Oso what that means.
He and his daughter, Jamie, fished both fresh water and the oceans around the world. One time he told me that they had fished every place that
Hemmingway did.
His last few years were hell for most of us who cared for him. The shrapnel in his body was still moving around and ended up not allowing him to feel
his legs and causing him to have to rely on Bill Almstedt to drive him around Baja. He never stopped even after he had to use a walker. Picture a
torn up, tough, old bird who crawled out of his cot every morning and walked to his spot at the end of the bar where he would wait until someone
came in before he would start the coffee--self control was his middle name--after coffee and small talk he would push his walker out on the patio and
hoist himself up onto a stationary bike where he would work his 'non functioning' legs for one hour.
Sure! he was one hell of a drinking man and he did punish his body all of his life. About two years before he died he finally allowed Bill to take
him to the hospital in the states for a check up--he had been unable to eat for over a year and had even stopped drinking for the last six months.
The doctors added a couple of new roads on his map and immediately sewed him back up and told him he only had about two weeks to live. He went back
to Baja and spent the last two years of his life fighting stomach cancer. Did he stop? Hell no! He wandered around Baja, including the Baja Races
and several trips to his 'hovel--home' in San Quintin.
He was fighting with his ex-wife who wanted to take everything he owned--which was a lot. He willed himself to hang on until he had won the court
cases assuring that his kids would end up with his possessions. I was sitting in the Cantina when he got the court paper and you could just see him
relax and let go--like a balloon with the air slowly escaping.
A few days later I wandered into the Cantina for coffee, it was a routine for us old guys to get together and lie to each other for a couple of hours
before the Cantina opened for business, and I was shocked when Dick ordered me to 'sit down there' and go through a box of books he had stacked there.
"Those books are yours." I knew that was his way of telling us he was dying. Bill took him to the VA Hospital in San Diego.
He was only there a few days and smiled when I read him the poem a couple of hours before he had me give it to his daughter.
One hell of a man who served his country with all of his strengh. He knew what he wanted in life and grabbed it as he passed. I doubt that any
single man ever had as many friends as did Dick.
I think of both him and Bill quite often. They were two men who had opted out of the craziness of Otra Lado and opted into Baja where they
could...........................................
[Edited on 7-30-2005 by Baja Bernie]
[Edited on 7-31-2005 by Baja Bernie]
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Barry A.
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A-OK check your u2u messages------
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Baja Bernie
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Barry A
Are you talking to me or Dave. I don't have any messages.
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Barry A.
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I was talking to "A-OK"----I sent him a very delayed u2u
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Baja Bernie
`Normal` Nomad Correspondent
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Sorry!
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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por nada
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Dave
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The thing I'll always remember about Dick was his smile. His whole face lit up.
He had the best temperament of anyone I ever knew. I never heard him yell at or speak poorly of anyone. They just don't make people like him anymore.
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Oso
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Bernie, Are you sure that wasn't "El Grito"? I'm not familiar with "greto" and can't find it anywhere in my dictionaries.
"El Grito" would make sense in relation to the decorative theme of the Hummer. It means "The Cry" (or shout, scream, etc.) and refers to Father
Miguel Hidalgo's midnight call for revolution against Spain.
It's also the "Independence Day" ceremony that takes place every year in the Zocalo in Mexico City. On the evening of September 15th, huge crowds
gather in front of the Palacio Nacional to wave flags, eat corn on the cob, and pinch girls. At precisely the stroke of midnight, the current
President steps out on the balcony and shouts "?Viva Mexico!" three times while the crowd responds with cries of "?Viva!". Occasionally, a Mexican
who has been celebrating with a bit of tequila will offer the variation "?Viva Mexico, hijos de la chin....!" Then everybody goes home. This is
simultaneously copied in almost every municipal plaza in every town in Mexico, usually with fireworks.
Although September 16 is officially Independence Day (No, gringos, it's not Cinco de Mayo), because the official event takes place at midnight
Mexicans celebrate both days, a 2 fer 1 holiday called "Las Fiestas Patrias". Only in Mexico...
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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Baja Bernie
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Oso
You got it! My fat fingers just do not go where they should and my even fatter head fails to see the mistakes even when I review my posts.
Thanks
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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Oso
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Don Bernardo, thanks for verifying what I was pretty sure you meant. Sorrry I never got to know such a great guy.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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